A Seemingly Unoccupied Table
by Jenrukiforevz
Summary: When Percy is dragged along by Bill and Fleur to a local pub to socialize, he meets a certain someone that makes him realize that being lonely is extremely Audrey. Takes place after Battle at Hogwarts. Percy x Audrey included.


**A/N: Hurray! I finished! This didn't actually take very long, I was just too busy procrastinating and before that, too busy coming up with an idea. **

**It's kind of weird that I came up with this idea when an image of Victorian style Harry and Ginny popped into my head. In the end, neither Harry or Ginny are in this fic, but I'm still satisfied :)**

**This is certainly not my best, but it isn't my worst either (I've written some horrible stuff, and that was only five or six months ago O.o). I'm just hoping it will get me to the arena, but if I don't, at least I have a nice piece on my profile XD Okay, no more stalling. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this story. However, do note that my interpretation of Audrey's personality and appearance is entirely fan-made and is not canon by any means. Also, Fleur is also slightly OOC, but nothing over the top.**

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><p>"I'm not going to like it."<p>

"Seriously, Percy. If you don't get out of that dump you call a house, you'll never find yourself a girlfriend."

"I agree. If you don't tag along more often, I am afraid that you will rot away in there without ever having any fun."

Percy sighed as the trio closed in on the local pub. Even from a distance, he could hear the laughter of drunk men and a bad musician from the open cracked windows. The air smelled strongly of alcohol and tabacco, causing him to cough once in a while. He could see beams of light being shot everywhere. He wouldn't be surprised if any of them turned green (luckily, none did). He hadn't even entered yet, but was already dreading the outing more than he already did.

He really hated Bill for dragging him there, especially with his wife around (her English was much better now), but he really had no choice once his brother's mind was set. According to him, Percy didn't have enough time to himself and spent too much time running errands for the Ministry. Perhaps he was right; he hadn't been allowed time off in ages. Still, going to a pub wasn't exactly his idea of enjoying himself either.

"My house is fine," he retorted.

"No it's not," Fleur countered. "There's always junk and papers everywhere. I'm surprised you haven't taken the time to clean up a bit. And it's awfully small..."

"I'm in a rough spot, right now. I don't have time for that. Besides, I'm the only one living there so I don't need any extra space."

"Of course you're the only one living there!" Bill patted Percy on his back a little too roughly. "We're here to change that!"

"Who says I need a suitor anyway?" Percy shrugged his brother's hand off. They were nearly there, and it was his last chance to make Bill change his mind.

"We do, and I'm sure that's enough," Fleur answered.

Percy hadn't even noticed that they had arrived at the door. It hung open, with a **We're Open **sign hanging by the window, shining green and red lights that were blinding his eyes. Inside, he could see a great amount of things happening at once.

A few wizards were already passed out on the floor, and an employee was dragging them one by one to the edges of the pub as to not disturb any people who were still on their feet. Others were seated at small, wooden tables, laughing wildly and pointing fingers at the goblins on the other side of the room. The goblins, in turn, appeared to be doing the same in exchange. The bartender was passing out drinks to a waitress who was showing more cleavage than he would've liked, and other waiters were sprinting about the place, taking down orders and hurrying to fetch said orders before a picky customer decided to explode on the poor guy.

"Now, go in there and impress some lady!" Fleur pushed Percy inside before he could stop her and almost tripped on an empty bottle of firewhiskey. When he had recovered himself, Bill and Fleur had reserved a table for themselves.

"Don't try to run away!" Bill teased.

Percy rolled his eyes and immaturely stuck his tongue out at him, a gesture that only managed to make Bill smile even wider.

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><p>Everything was so out of his comfort zone. Percy felt awkward just standing there having any passerby stare at him like a fish out of water, which was exactly what he was.<p>

_Forget what Bill says_, he thought. _I'll get on the Knight Bus if I have to._

The idea actually sounded like a nice one, but before Percy had the chance to carry it out, he heard a familiar voice boom from his right side.

"Why, if it isn't Percy Weasley!"

Percy felt a strong, and rather hairy, hand reaching for his and turned to see none other than Hogwarts' gamekeeper. "Hello, Hagrid. Nice meeting you here."

Hagrid gave a hearty laugh and showed his grubby teeth. From the looks of it, he had been drinking, but Percy knew well enough that he meant no harm. "Indeed it is. I was just 'ere with a friend o' mine, playing cards. I thought I'd say hello once I saw ye."

"Well, that's mighty thoughtful of you, Hagrid, but I really must get going," Percy said, eager to get away. Hagrid was a good man, but Percy really wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now. "I'll see you around."

"Alrigh' then. I better get back to me game," Hagrid waved and lumbered off to a far corner where a cloaked man sat. Percy sometimes wondered if Hagrid was blind, or just had a bad sense of logic.

Once Hagrid was gone, Percy decided that he might as well make the most of what he got. There weren't many chairs empty, so when he did spot one, he quickly claimed it for himself.

"Can I help you?"

Percy jumped at the voice. He turned and saw a young lady speaking to him from the opposite side of the table. She was tall with fair skin, a long, black braid hanging from her shoulder. She wore glasses that hid her pale grey eyes, and she was sporting a simple blue dress. He hadn't noticed her before; he was sure the table had been empty when he took a seat.

"Er, no. I didn't know you were there. If I'm causing too much trouble then I'll-" Percy began to stand but the woman shook her head.

"It's alright, I don't mind."

An awkward silence ensued afterwards. The lady was reading a book as Percy sat there, unconsciously watching her do so. It wasn't the ideal spot to sit down and enjoy a book in his opinion, but he didn't ask.

"You're Percy Weasley, correct?" she asked suddenly, her eyes not bothering to look up.

"How did you know?"

"I've seen you around at the Ministry. I'm new there, so I wouldn't expect you to recognize me," she cooly responded.

"Oh. Well, alright. And you are?"

"Audrey."

"Audrey what?"

"There really is no need for formality at a place like this, is there? For now, it's just Audrey."

It was certainly an odd answer, but Percy accepted it all the same. Maybe during normal circumstances, he would've insisted, but he didn't feel like pressing any further at the moment. He was tired enough as it was.

"Okay then, _Audrey_. What do you do at the Ministry?"

She closed her book and set in on the table. _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_. "I work at the Administrative Registration Department."

"Don't tell me you're still reading this junk!" Percy changed the subject, even though he had been the one to start the conversation. He held up the book for her to see and dropped it back down. "Most of it is just her venting her anger and suspicions."

"Don't you think I know that?" she frowned, clearly offended. "I read the news, you know."

"Then why on Earth would you still read it?" Percy raised his voice, a rare occurrence on his part. He couldn't help it; his curiosity was peaked.

"I received a free copy after I sent a letter to the author," she explained. "I told her that I disagreed with the message she was attempting to convey, so she proceeded to get me a free book so that I may change my mind."

"That doesn't answer my question, though."

"If she was going to go to such lengths to try and convince me that her words are true, I might as well respect her motives and take the time to decide for myself once I've read what she's got to say. So far, I haven't had a change of heart, but it _is_ possible, and I intend to follow through to the very last sentence."

"In other words, you're wasting your time with a book that will probably do nothing for you."

"Don't put words in my mouth. Although you're partially right."

"I thought so," Percy congradgulated himself. "Why are you reading here, anyway?"

"It can get lonely at home, and this is the closest place there is. It might be loud, but it works."

"Ah."

"Are you gonna buy something?"

Percy turned to see a pesky waiter tapping his foot impatiently on the floor. He was a very hairy man.

"Well..."

"Two butterbeers, please," Audrey ordered.

"Are you sure?" the waiter raised a furry eyebrow.

"That's what I ordered, right?"

"As you wish." The waiter gave a little bow and walked away.

"No alcohol?" Percy questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't drink. It probably kills brain cells or something."

"I'll have to look that up."

"Sure."

"I'm not done yet."

"Oh?"

"How come you chose for _me_?"

"I never said the other one was yours."

"Is it?"

"That was my intention."

"So?"

"You obviously had no clue what to say, so I saved you the effort."

"Well, thank you. But I'll be paying."

"No, I ordered, so I pay."

"But you're a lady."

"And you're a man. Does it make a difference?"

"I suppose not."

"Right."

"I'm still paying." Percy wasn't sure why he was so inclined to pay the bill, but he was determined to follow through with his words.

"If you say so."

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><p>Before Percy had realized it, he was truly having a blast. He spent his time having witty conversations with Audrey about work, food, recent news, and society itself. After a butterbeer, Percy asked the waiter to bring him something stronger, and he was able to convince Audrey that she could spare a few brain cells in the process.<p>

To his surprise, she never seemed bored or disheartened at him being there. Any other person would've gotten tired of his incessant rambling after a while, but Audrey didn't. Instead, she immersed herself in his debates, and they had a few laughs while doing so.

Percy didn't know how much time had passed, but when he finally saw Bill and Fleur making their way over, he knew it must be late.

"It's late so I better be off," he said, standing up and pushing his chair back in place.

"1:43 a.m. already, huh?" Audrey mused, taking a look at her watch. "I guess I'll see you around, then."

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "Although, I never did catch your last name."

Audrey gave him a devilish grin. He thought it was pretty sexy of her. "Tell you what. If you can find me at work, you can find out for yourself."

"Deal," Percy nodded, shaking her hand. Her hand felt warm and soft.

"See ya, Weasley," she sloppily saluted. She picked up her book and gracefully walked out.

"Told you this would help," Bill poked fun at him. With two fingers. On his arm. "And you even met a lady friend."

"Did you ask her out?" Fleur continued, following her husband's example by poking him on his other side.

Percy could feel the heat rushing to his face. "No."

"Why?" they both cried in unison.

"Because I just didn't."

"Will you ever see her again?" Fleur pushed, her features hopeful.

"Most likely. She works at the Minstry as well, and I practically promised to visit her sometime."

"So you don't work in the same department?"

Percy shook his head. This was going to be a long walk home.

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><p>That night, when Percy got back to his little house, he felt, for the first time, lonesome. He also noticed that his home was dark, crammed, and extremely small. And when he went to bed that night, all he could think about was getting to work early so he could find out Audrey's last name.<p> 


End file.
